Storyboard:

Title:

1983 - The fake: Hitler’s diary

Rights-Managed,
Editorial

Location and time:

Germany, Hamburg, 25-04-1983

Description:

In 1983, the German news magazine Stern published extracts from what purported to be the diaries of Adolf Hitler, known as the Hitler Diaries. The magazine had paid 10 million German marks ($6 million at that time) for the sixty small books as well as two "special issues" about Rudolf Hess flight to the United Kingdom , covering the period from 1932 to 1945. Journalist Gerd Heidemann claimed to have discovered them, and submitted them to be reviewed by a number of experts in WWII history, notably the historians Hugh Trevor-Roper and Gerhard Weinberg. At a press conference on April 25, 1983, the diaries were declared by these experts to be authentic. Even though they had not yet been properly examined by scientists, Trevor-Roper endorsed the diaries thus: "I am now satisfied that the documents are authentic; that the history of their wanderings since 1945 is true; and that the standard accounts of Hitlers writing habits, of his personality and, even, perhaps, of some public events, may in consequence have to be revised." Trevor-Roper was at that time a director of Times Newspapers, and although he denied acting dishonestly, there was a clear conflict of interests, because The Sunday Times had already paid a substantial sum for the rights to serialise the diaries in the UK .

Sound Bite and conversation:

Bissinger, Manfred

(former Stern editor in 1983) , speaking German: - "The magazine suffered enormously because of the Hitler-diaries. It simply lost its credibility. Of course after this, we had to do everything to gain it back The magazine had to show itself from an extremely serious side and this is always difficult for a journal."

Trevor, Prof. Hugh

(1983 historian - Hitler's diary) , speaking English: - "A woman visited me from “Stern” and offered a lot of money to travel to Hamburg and talk about the originality of the diaries. Of course, I refused this."

Heidemann, Gerd

(Stern reporter, 1983) , speaking German: - "Mr Nannen, from Stern, started a criminal procedure. He had to do something. I was not angry with him. I was hoping that I would provide the biggest story in „Stern’s” history, but actually it was the biggest failure."

Trevor, Prof. Hugh

(1983 historian - Hitler's diary) , speaking English: - "I’ve changed my mind because I question the place of origin of the documents."

Kujau, Konrad

(Counterfeiter in 1983) , speaking German: - "Little Goebbels was chasing after skirts. Tomorrow I will make a regulation, that I won’t tolerate any more affairs in the lives of my close colleagues and leading individuals of the party."

Kujau, Konrad

(Counterfeiter in 1983) , speaking German: - "Just imagine, you were sitting at a table, and somebody offered 2 million if you acquire the diary of Hitler, obviously after subtracting his own 10 percent. Well, yes, I got 10 days to think it over and then I said yes. For understandable reasons…2 million is a lot of money, right?"

Kujau, Konrad

(Counterfeiter in 1983) , speaking German: - "I just felt like doing it. I did it in the same way as art forgers. It was only about putting myself into the personality of the original author. I didn’t even care about what was typical and, for example if it was covered with plastic or not. It didn’t matter to me."